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Nautobot v2.3

This document describes all new features and changes in Nautobot 2.3.

Release Overview

Added

Added an Optional role field to Interface and VMInterface models (#4406)

Added an optional role field to Interface and VMInterface models to track common interface configurations. Now the users can create Role instances that can be assigned to interfaces and vminterfaces.

Cloud Models (#5716, #5719, #5721, #5872)

Added the new models CloudAccount, CloudResourceType, CloudNetwork, and CloudService to support recording of cloud provider accounts (AWS, Azure, GCP, DigitalOcean, etc.), cloud resource types (AWS EC2, Azure Virtual Machine Service, Google App Engine, etc.), cloud services (specific instances of services described by cloud resource types) and cloud network objects (such as VPCs) in Nautobot.

Dynamic Group Enhancements

Dynamic Groups now have a group_type field, which specifies whether this group is defined by an object filter, defined by aggregating other groups via set operations, or defined via static assignment of objects as group members (this third type is new in Nautobot 2.3). Additionally, you can now assign a tenant and/or tags to each Dynamic Group.

A new model, StaticGroupAssociation, and associated REST API, have been added in support of the new "static" group type. See also "Dynamic Group Cache Changes" below.

For more details, refer to the Dynamic Group documentation.

Object Metadata Models (#5663)

Added a set of functionality for defining and managing object metadata, that is to say, data about the network data managed in Nautobot, such as data provenance, data ownership, and data classification. For more details, refer to the linked documentation.

Saved Views

Added the ability for users to save multiple configurations of list views (table columns, filtering, pagination and sorting) for ease of later use and reuse. Refer to the Saved View documentation for more details and on how to use saved views.

Device Modules (#2101)

Added new models for ModuleBay, Module, ModuleType, and ModuleBayTemplate to support modeling line cards and other modular components of a device. These models allow you to define a hierarchy of module bays and modules within a device, and to assign components (such as interfaces, power ports, etc.) to specific modules.

Changed

Dynamic Group Cache Changes

To improve performance of the Dynamic Groups feature, a number of changes have been made:

  • Dynamic Groups now always use StaticGroupAssociation records as a database cache of their member objects, rather than optionally caching their members in Redis for a limited time period. For Dynamic Groups of types other than the new "static" group type, these StaticGroupAssociation records are hidden by default from the UI and REST API.
  • The DYNAMIC_GROUPS_MEMBER_CACHE_TIMEOUT setting variable is deprecated, as it no longer influences Dynamic Group cache behavior.
  • The APIs DynamicGroup.members, DynamicGroup.count, DynamicGroup.has_member(), and object.dynamic_groups now always use the database cache rather than being recalculated on the fly.
  • The APIs DynamicGroup.members_cached, DynamicGroup.members_cache_key, object.dynamic_groups_cached, object.dynamic_groups_list, and object.dynamic_groups_list_cached are now deprecated.
  • Editing a Dynamic Group definition refreshes its cached members and those of any "parent" groups that use it.
  • Viewing a Dynamic Group detail view in the UI refreshes its cached members (only).
  • A new System Job, Refresh Dynamic Group Caches, can be run or scheduled as apprropriate to refresh Dynamic Group member caches on demand.
  • The existing API DynamicGroup.update_cached_members() can be called by Apps or Jobs needing to ensure that the cache is up-to-date for any given Dynamic Group.

Updated to Django 4.2

As Django 3.2 has reached end-of-life, Nautobot 2.3 requires Django 4.2, the next long-term-support (LTS) version of Django. There are a number of changes in Django itself as a result of this upgrade; Nautobot App maintainers are urged to review the Django release-notes (4.0, 4.1, 4.2), especially the relevant "Backwards incompatible changes" sections, to proactively identify any impact to their Apps.

Log Cleanup as System Job (#3749)

Cleanup of the change log (deletion of ObjectChange records older than a given cutoff) is now handled by the new LogsCleanup system Job, rather than occurring at random as a side effect of new change log records being created. Admins desiring automatic cleanup are encouraged to schedule this job to run at an appropriate interval suitable to your deployment's needs.

Info

Setting CHANGELOG_RETENTION in your Nautobot configuration by itself no longer directly results in periodic cleanup of ObjectChange records. You must run (or schedule to periodically run) the LogsCleanup Job for this to occur.

As an additional enhancement, the LogsCleanup Job can also be used to cleanup JobResult records if desired as well.

v2.3.0-beta.1 (2024-07-25)

Security

  • #5889 - Updated Django to ~4.2.14 due to CVE-2024-38875, CVE-2024-39329, CVE-2024-39330, and CVE-2024-39614.

Added

  • #1758 - Implemented SavedView model.
  • #2101 - Added ModuleBay, Module, ModuleType and ModuleBayTemplate models to support modeling line cards and other modular components of a device.
  • #3749 - Added "Logs Cleanup" system Job, which can be run to delete ObjectChange and/or JobResult records older than a given cutoff.
  • #4406 - Added role field to Interface and VMInterface models.
  • #5212 - Added contacts and teams filters to appropriate FilterSets and filter forms.
  • #5348 - Enhanced UI to include arrow indicators for sorted table columns.
  • #5429 - Added Python 3.12 support.
  • #5442 - Added JobResultFactory, JobLogEntryFactory, and ObjectChangeFactory classes and added creation of fake JobResult, JobLogEntry, and ObjectChange records to the nautobot-server generate_test_data command.
  • #5471 - Added the ability to set Global and User default saved view.
  • #5471 - Added the ability to set public and private saved view.
  • #5472 - Added StaticGroup and StaticGroupAssociation data models, used for statically defining groups of Nautobot objects.
  • #5472 - Added feature filter to /api/extras/content-types/.
  • #5472 - Added static_groups filter to all applicable models via the BaseFilterSet class.
  • #5472 - Added static_groups field to applicable model create/edit forms via the StaticGroupModelFormMixin class (included in NautobotModelForm class automatically).
  • #5472 - Added Static Groups column to applicable model tables.
  • #5472 - Added static_groups and associated_contacts to applicable GraphQL types.
  • #5472 - Enhanced BaseTable class to automatically apply appropriate count_related annotations for any LinkedCountColumn.
  • #5473 - Added support for objects to "opt out" of change logging by returning None from their to_objectchange() method.
  • #5473 - Added description strings to all system Jobs.
  • #5473 - Added Refresh Dynamic Group Caches system Job.
  • #5631 - Added ContactMixin and StaticGroupMixin abstract model mixin classes. Models that inherit from OrganizationalModel or PrimaryModel will automatically include these mixins.
  • #5663 - Added MetadataType and MetadataChoice data models, REST API, and UI.
  • #5664 - Added ObjectMetadata data models, UI and REST API.
  • #5687 - Added setup_structlog_logging() to allow using structlog from nautobot_config.py file.
  • #5716 - Added CloudNetwork model, UI, GraphQL and REST API.
  • #5716 - Added CloudNetwork to CircuitTermination model, UI, and REST API.
  • #5716 - Added CloudNetwork to Prefix View.
  • #5719 - Added CloudAccount Model, UI, GraphQL and REST API.
  • #5721 - Added ~CloudType~ CloudResourceType Model, UI, GraphQL and REST API.
  • #5730 - Added a feature that replaces {module}, {module.parent}, {module.parent.parent}, etc. with the selected module's parent_module_bay position when creating a component in a module.
  • #5732 - Added indices on StaticGroupAssociation table for common lookup patterns.
  • #5786 - Added DynamicGroup.group_type field with options dynamic-filter, dynamic-set, and static. Existing DynamicGroups will automatically be set to either dynamic-filter or dynamic-set as befits their definitions.
  • #5786 - Added DynamicGroup.tenant and DynamicGroup.tags fields.
  • #5786 - Added Dynamic Group support to many more Nautobot models.
  • #5791 - Added support for specifying a Device's Primary IP from an interface on a child Module.
  • #5792 - Added display of components from installed modules to the Device Component tabs.
  • #5817 - Added Celery Worker details to the Job Result Advanced Tab.
  • #5817 - Added advanced_content_left_page block to the Advanced Tab.
  • #5872 - Added CloudService Model, UI, GraphQL and REST API.
  • #5873 - Added worker status page for staff users.
  • #5890 - Add CSS class to pagination dropdown to resolve issue with color-scheme.
  • #5895 - Added missing model documentation for CloudNetwork, CloudNetworkPrefixAssignment, CloudService and ~CloudType~ CloudResourceType.
  • #5923 - Added prefers_id keyword argument to NaturalKeyOrPKMultipleChoiceFilter initialization to use the object ID instead of the to_field_name when automatically generating a form field for the filter.
  • #5933 - Added tables of related CloudService and/or CloudNetwork instances to the CloudResourceType detail view.
  • #5933 - Added description field to CloudService model.

Changed

  • #2101 - Updated device interfaces filter to support filtering by interface name as well as by ID.
  • #3749 - Changed behavior of the CHANGELOG_RETENTION setting; it no longer applies automatically to force cleanup of ObjectChange records over a certain age cutoff, but instead serves as the default cutoff age whenever running the new "Logs Cleanup" system Job.
  • #5429 - Changed default Docker image Python version to 3.12.
  • #5473 - Changed object "detail" views to only show Dynamic Groups tab if the object belongs to at least one such group.
  • #5473 - Replaced Redis implementation of Dynamic Group membership caches with a database cache implementation using the StaticGroupAssociation model.
  • #5473 - Changed DynamicGroup.members, DynamicGroup.has_member(), and DynamicGroupMixin.dynamic_groups APIs to always use the database cache.
  • #5631 - Changed behavior of models that inherit directly from BaseModel (not OrganizationalModel or PrimaryModel) to default to is_contact_associable_model = False.
  • #5786 - Changed TreeManager class (used for tree-models such as Location, RackGroup, and TenantGroup) default behavior from with_tree_fields to without_tree_fields. This should improve performance in many cases but may impact Apps or Jobs that were relying on the old default; such code should be updated to explicitly call .with_tree_fields() where appropriate.
  • #5786 - Merged the StaticGroup model added in #5472 into the existing DynamicGroup model as a special type of group.
  • #5786 - Replaced static_groups filter added in #5472 with a dynamic_groups filter.
  • #5786 - Replaced static_groups model form field added in #5472 with a dynamic_groups field.
  • #5786 - Replaced Static Groups object table column added in #5472 with a Dynamic Groups column.
  • #5786 - Replaced static_groups GraphQL field added in #5472 with a dynamic_groups field.
  • #5786 - Replaced StaticGroupMixin model mixin class added in #5631 with a DynamicGroupsModelMixin class. Still included by default in OrganizationalModel and PrimaryModel.
  • #5790 - Updated Cable table to display the parent Device of Cables connected to Modules in a Device.
  • #5790 - Updated device and device_id filters for Cables, Interfaces, and other modular device components to recognize components that are nested in Modules in a Device.
  • #5790 - Updated Cable connect form to allow connecting to Console Ports, Console Server Ports, Interfaces, Power Ports, Power Outlets, Front Ports, and Rear Ports that are nested in Modules in a Device.
  • #5790 - Updated Interface device filter to allow filtering on Device name or id.
  • #5790 - Updated Cable._termination_a_device and Cable._termination_b_device to cache the Device when cables are connected to an Interface or Port of a Module in a Device.
  • #5817 - Removed Additional Data tab on Job Result view and collapsed the data into Advanced Tab.
  • #5826 - Moved SavedView model from users app to extras app.
  • #5841 - Added role field as a default column for Device Interface tab and VirtualMachine VMInterface table.
  • #5869 - Combined bulk-edit/bulk-delete/bulk-group-update buttons into a single button with a pop-up menu when appropriate.
  • #5870 - Consolidated List View Action buttons into a single button with a dropdown menu.
  • #5871 - Consolidated Detail View Action buttons into a single button with a dropdown menu.
  • #5873 - Updated the job run form to use more of the horizontal whitespace on the page.
  • #5933 - Renamed CloudType model to CloudResourceType for improved clarity.
  • #5977 - Changed the provider field help text of CloudAccount and CloudResourceType model classes and forms.
  • #5978 - Changed CloudService cloud_network field from a ForeignKey to a ManyToMany called cloud_networks.

Deprecated

  • #5473 - Deprecated the properties DynamicGroup.members_cached, DynamicGroup.members_cache_key, DynamicGroupMixin.dynamic_groups_cached, DynamicGroupMixin.dynamic_groups_list, and DynamicGroupMixin.dynamic_groups_list_cached.
  • #5786 - Deprecated the DynamicGroupMixin model mixin class. Models supporting Dynamic Groups should use DynamicGroupsModelMixin instead.
  • #5870 - Deprecated the blocks block export_button and block import_button in generic/object_list.html. Apps and templates should migrate to using block export_list_element and block import_list_element respectively.

Removed

  • #3749 - Removed automatic random cleanup of ObjectChange records when processing requests and signals.
  • #5473 - Removed DYNAMIC_GROUPS_MEMBER_CACHE_TIMEOUT setting as it is no longer relevant after refactoring the Dynamic Group membership caching implementation.
  • #5786 - Removed the StaticGroup model added in #5472, replacing it with a subtype of the DynamicGroup model.

Fixed

  • #2352 - Fixed random deadlocks in long-running Jobs resulting from the ObjectChange automatic cleanup signal.
  • #5123 - Fixed an unhandled ValueError when filtering on vlans by their UUID rather than their VLAN ID.
  • #5442 - Replaced overly broad invalidate_models_cache signal handler with two more narrowly scoped handlers, preventing the signal handler from being invoked for operations on irrelevant models.
  • #5442 - Fixed incorrect linkification of JobLogEntry table rows when a record had a log_object but no absolute_url.
  • #5473 - Significantly improved performance of Dynamic Group UI views.
  • #5774 - Fixed the bug that required users and administrators to manage additional permission to be able to use saved views.
  • #5814 - Fixed style issues with Saved Views and other language code blocks.
  • #5818 - Fixed broken table configure buttons in device and module component tabs.
  • #5842 - Fixed missing classes when importing * from nautobot.ipam.models.
  • #5877 - Resolved issue with tags not saving on Dynamic Groups.
  • #5880 - Fixed overflowing device component tables in device and module component tabs.
  • #5880 - Fixed an exception when trying to edit an IPAddress that had a NAT Inside IPAddress that was related to a component attached to a module.
  • #5880 - Fixed incorrect sort order of interfaces in the device and module interface tabs.
  • #5898 - Replaced object-metadatas in UI and REST API urls with object-metadata.
  • #5932 - Fixed visual bug in consolidated action button for list views.
  • #5933 - Fixed missing cloud.cloudservice content-type option on CloudResourceType model.
  • #5933 - Fixed incorrect submenu heading in Cloud navigation menu.
  • #5933 - Fixed incorrect rendering of Tags column in Cloud object tables.
  • #5939 - Fixed the usage of incorrect model in Cloud Service list view action buttons.
  • #5951 - Removed unused consolidated action button on job list view.
  • #5952 - Changed generic "Bulk Actions" dropup button styling to match generic "Actions" dropdown button.

Dependencies

  • #1758 - Updated materialdesignicons to version 7.4.47.
  • #4616 - Updated django-taggit to ~5.0.0.
  • #4616 - Updated netaddr to ~1.3.0.
  • #5160 - Updated Django to version ~4.2.13.
  • #5160 - Updated django-db-file-storage to version ~0.5.6.1.
  • #5160 - Updated django-timezone-field to version ~6.1.0.
  • #5429 - Updated Docker build and CI to use poetry 1.8.2.
  • #5429 - Removed development dependency on mkdocs-include-markdown-plugin as it's no longer used in Nautobot's documentation.
  • #5518 - Updated drf-spectacular to version 0.27.2.
  • #5687 - Added django-structlog dependency.
  • #5734 - Updated django-auth-ldap dependency to ~4.8.
  • #5734 - Updated django-tree-queries dependency to ~0.19.
  • #5734 - Updated Markdown dependency to ~3.6.
  • #5735 - Updated django-constance dependency to ~3.1.0
  • #5735 - Updated emoji dependency to ~2.12.1.
  • #5735 - Widened napalm dependency to permit version 5.x.
  • #5865 - Updated celery to ~5.3.6.
  • #5865 - Updated django-cors-headers to ~4.4.0.
  • #5865 - Updated django-health-check to ~3.18.3.
  • #5865 - Updated django-structlog to ^8.1.0.
  • #5865 - Updated djangorestframework to ~3.15.2.
  • #5889 - Updated django-filter to version ~24.2.
  • #5889 - Updated django-timezone-field to version ~7.0.

Documentation

  • #5699 - Updated to mkdocs~1.6.0 and mkdocs-material~9.5.23.
  • #5699 - Fixed a number of broken links within the documentation.
  • #5735 - Updated mkdocstrings to ~0.25.1 and mkdocstrings-python to ~1.10.2.

Housekeeping

  • #5160 - Replaced references to pytz with zoneinfo in keeping with Django 4.
  • #5212 - Enhanced nautobot.core.testing.filters.FilterTestCases.BaseFilterTestCase.test_filters_generic() test case to test for the presence and proper functioning of the contacts and teams filters on any appropriate model FilterSet.
  • #5429 - Added Python 3.12 to CI.
  • #5429 - Updated CI to use poetry 1.8.2 and use action networktocode/gh-action-setup-poetry-environment@v6.
  • #5429 - Removed CI workaround for old Poetry versions.
  • #5473 - Added assertApproximateNumQueries test-case helper method.
  • #5524 - Deleted unnecessary special case handling for test_view_with_content_types.
  • #5663 - Added support for django_get_or_create property in BaseModelFactory.
  • #5725 - Updated development dependencies pylint to 3.2.0, ruff to 0.4.0, and selenium to 4.21.
  • #5786 - Substantially reduced the setup overhead (time/memory) of OpenAPISchemaTestCases tests.
  • #5842 - Fixed missing mysqldump client when trying to run tests with --parallel on mysql.
  • #5865 - Updated django-debug-toolbar development dependency to ~4.4.0.
  • #5865 - Updated mkdocs-include-markdown-plugin documentation dependency to 6.2.1.
  • #5865 - Updated mkdocs-material documentation dependency to 9.5.27.
  • #5865 - Updated mkdocs-section-index documentation dependency to 0.3.9.
  • #5865 - Updated mkdocstrings-python documentation dependency to 1.10.5.
  • #5865 - Updated pylint development dependency to ~3.2.5.
  • #5865 - Updated ruff development dependency to ~0.5.0.
  • #5865 - Updated selenium development dependency to ~4.22.0.
  • #5934 - Add Cloud Model Example and Entity Diagram.
  • #5986 - Fixed multiple intermittent failures in unit tests.